Saudi Arabia Suspends Umrah Over Coronavirus Outbreak

The Saudi Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday temporary suspension of Umrah for citizens and residents, as part of preventative measures against novel coronavirus outbreak.

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The ministry in a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency said the decision will be cancelled if the virus risks pass.

Saudi Arabia registered this week the first coronavirus case of a Saudi national who came back from Iran via Bahrain. The Health Ministry said on Wednesday that his condition is stable.

 Iran cancelled Friday prayers in major cities across the country amid novel coronavirus outbreak, official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.

"The Friday prayers in the capital cities of all provinces (including Tehran) have been cancelled this week," Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, chief of Friday prayers' headquarters, was quoted as saying.

Iran had cancelled Tehran's Friday prayers ceremony last week over concerns of the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Friday prayers is a weekly religious event held in the Iranian cities, whereby Iran's major cultural, social and political issues are addressed by senior clerics.

The novel coronavirus has so far infected 2,922 people across Iran, 92 of whom have died.